Don't Raise Your Voice. You Might Scare Mommy

“He raped me and now acts as if I deserve all this.” Deanna spoke silently to herself, clenching her fists. The woman didn't know what to do to get out of this place; she couldn't even stand up anymore. 

Deanna hadn't eaten anything because she felt that life was meaningless after losing her virginity to a stranger. 

Deanna spoke silently to herself again. “Besides, he'll probably kill me anyway, right? People like him seem so easy to take someone's life. This man must be a cruel man.”

The woman was offered food again, but she refused. Deanna still couldn't accept being treated this way without any reason. If Meazus wanted Deanna to keep quiet about what happened at the hospital, then she would do it. Deanna would close her eyes and ears as if she had never known what Meazus had planned at the hospital. 

All of this was truly cruel! She was tied up as if she were an aggressive criminal. Deanna cried again because life had felt so heavy lately. She no longer had a father or mother, and her boyfriend had left her without any reason.

Now she has to accept this terrible situation.

“I don't know where I went wrong. I really can't take it anymore. Is dying at the hands of that man a good way out?” Deanna asked herself. Deanna also thought that Meazus would definitely kill her after meeting his daughter. 

Deanna nodded as if to convince herself. After all, there was nothing to fear from death. Deanna was also sure that no one would cry when they heard the sad news about her.

“Why is my life so hard?” Deanna asked while clenching her fists. Deanna could only cry without being able to answer the questions coming out of their mouths.

“Clean the woman's body, then choose one of Sharena's dresses for her.” Meazus gave the order to the two nannies standing at the door after he exited the basement.

“Sharena's dress?” The nanny asked again to confirm what she had heard. Usually, Meazus was very particular about Sharena's belongings, not allowing a single item to go missing from her room. Even though Sharena had been gone for eight years after successfully giving birth to Selena, Meazus' love for her had not faded.

But this time was different; Meazus even asked the nanny to give Sharena's clothes to this woman. A few minutes later, the chains on Deanna's hands were removed, and she was taken into the bathroom. The woman could no longer support her body with her weak legs, so one of the servants came to carry her to the bathroom. 

“Look at her body.”

The nanny cleaning Deanna's body whispered to the others while pointing to several blue marks on Deanna's back. 

“What was your previous job?” asked another nanny while rinsing Deanna's body with fragrant lavender liquid.

Deanna sat weakly in the bathtub with the soapy water level at her chest. The woman hadn't spoken a word since then; she just sat there with a blank stare.

“Shh!” The other nanny gently tapped the hand of the woman who had asked about Deanna's job. “Look at that.” She pointed to the cloth lying carelessly on the floor near the bathtub. “She was a nurse.”

A few minutes later, Deanna was finished being cleaned, and the nanny also applied a little makeup to cover the pale expression on Deanna's face.

Before Deanna was shown to Selena, she had to face Meazus first. However, since Deanna could barely walk, Meazus had no choice but to come into the room—the room that would become Deanna's room.

Meazus entered the room, accompanied by Zoan and his two other right-hand men. The man with the strong jawline saw Deanna sitting weakly on the side of the bed, her head bowed. 

The first thing Meazus noticed was the blue dress Deanna was wearing. That dress was Sharena’s favorite, and she loved it dearly. Meazus’s hands clenched into fists, his heartbeat pounding so loudly it felt like it was thumping in his ears. “Take that dress off her!”

The nanny in the room was startled by Meazus’s shout, even though just a few hours ago he had said they could give Sharena’s clothes to Deanna. 

“Yes, Mr. Meazus.”  

“Give her your clothes. I’ll pay for them. After she changes, let her eat first before meeting Selena.”

The two nannies sighed deeply as Meazus left the room. They looked at Deanna, who had been keeping her head down and showing no expression.  

“Are you hungry?”  

Deanna didn't answer at all. A few minutes later, Deanna was taken to Selena's room as per the little girl's request for her birthday present. Deanna hadn't eaten anything because she had firmly refused any food that came near her mouth. So, they had no choice but to inject her with vitamins to prevent her from fainting when she met Selena.  

***  

“Daddy, why are you always daydreaming?”  

Meazus startled when Selena suddenly spoke to him. The man gently massaged his forehead as the image of Sharena kept appearing due to the blue dress Deanna had worn a few hours earlier. In fact, it had been nearly three years since Meazus had last thought of Sharena, but her image suddenly returned after Deanna wore her dress. 

The man, who had been sitting near the window, moved and sat beside Selena.

Selena furrowed her eyebrows with a worried expression. “Are you sick, Daddy?”

Meazus shook his head slowly and sighed deeply. “Daddy is fine, Selena. You—”

“She's coming, Daddy!” Selena, who was sitting on the bed, looked at Meazus who was beside her. Selena paused for a few seconds to confirm the footsteps outside the room, then smiled widely again. “Yeah! She's coming!”

Meazus only smiled slightly because the person talking to him was his daughter. The little girl with her hair tied up in a bun smiled toward the still-closed door, as if waiting for Deanna to arrive from there.

“I can't wait for her!”

At the same moment, the door opened, and the first face Selena saw was Deanna's, who showed no sign of joy. Deanna felt completely drained, even just to muster a smile. 

“Alright, we'll go first.” The two nannies who had brought Deanna asked permission to leave, while Deanna was left standing there with Meazus and Selena.

Selena got off the bed and approached Deanna. “Hello, I'm Selena. What's your name?”

Deanna looked into Selena's sparkling eyes. Could this little girl be the key? For Deanna, maybe yes. This little girl could be the key to getting her out of this place. Deanna had made eye contact with her a few days ago, even though they hadn't communicated. 

The pale-faced woman tried to find a resemblance between Meazus' face and the little girl's. There was none. But Meazus referred to her as “daughter.”  

“Are you okay?” Selena asked gently.

“My daughter asked your name, and you won't answer?”

“Daddy.” Selena looked at Meazus. "Don't raise your voice. You might scare mommy."  

“Mommy?!” Deanna thought to herself. “What does that mean?”  

Not only was Deanna surprised, but Meazus was also completely shocked when he heard Selena call her “mommy.”